Essay

** Principle 2- ** Understands Development  Establishing relationships with the students is essential for an effective operating classroom. However, in forming relationships with students, the teacher must first understand the child, adolescents, or young adult’s development. Teachers must understand the physical, emotional, social, psychological, cognitive, and personal development of each student so as to tailor learning to their student’s developmental needs. For instance, for a preschool teacher or early elementary teacher, it is crucial to focus on student’s development and one way to measure where students are socially, cognitively, and psychologically primarily is through Piaget’s stages of development. In the child’s younger years of schooling, it is essential to understand their development so that the teacher can better serve the students. Teaching in the zone of proximal development is one example because the teacher must be cognizant of the child’s developmental stage to know to what extent of the material they may instruct. Teachers do their children a disservice and limit their opportunities when they fail to understand their development of all types. To fully teach the child at a level they can comprehend and succeed at, the teacher must be aware of the students development. ** Principle 3- ** Understanding Difference  No two children learn the same way, but sometimes educators forget this. Therefore, designing instructions that tailor to one child’s strengths in learning but not the others cause that child to feel uncomfortable and perform poorly. Understanding the diversities of students learning styles is significant in education today. Hence, Garners theory of multiple intelligences are being studied and practiced to see how greatly they benefit students learning. To summarize Garner’s multiple intelligences theory, Howard Garner proposed that each human possess a stronger intelligence in one to three areas of intelligences including linguistic, logico-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalistic. Similarly, student’s creativity is domain specific, meaning that depending on the task, students can be more creative with it or not. This is important to understand when assigning projects and in the assessment of them as well. When teachers understand student’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of receptive learning styles, then the teacher may alter her instructions possibly providing some cross curriculum or a variety of sensory stimulating activity to assure every child learns and understand the material. ** Principle 4- ** Designs Instructional Strategies  It is one matter to instruct with examples from the text book or supply worksheets and hand outs, but it is particularly important and essential that educators understand and incorporate a variety of instructional strategies in their classroom. It is the teacher’s responsibility to assure students grasp the understanding of material, but with every child comprehending the material differently, teachers must transform their teaching styles to reach every child’s needs. One way a teacher can perform such a task is by creating stations where each one will require the student to utilize a difference sense. So for a student who is a hands-on learner, they would better understand at a station where they have to manipulate objects. For oral and visual learners, you may put them at a station where they watch an informational film or live demonstration of a concept. The teacher must understand how each strategy they design and incorporate will benefit their students and prompt them to think critically, problem solve, and perform accurately. When children are more comfortable with the way they learn, they tend to learn more efficiently. ** Principle 5- ** Manages and Motivates  The vast difference between a mediocre teacher and an excellent teacher is their constant support, encouragement, inspiration, and skillful classroom management techniques. Any successful teacher is not measured by how much they know about their subject, but about how they interact with and encourage their students through the structure and boundaries they established. Teachers must be receptive and understanding of their student’s needs and desires so to challenge and motivate appropriately without the child feeling pressured. Teachers must also establish a safe and effective learning environment that children feel secure in. Rules are encouraged to be established and agreed upon by students and teachers to allow the children to feel a sense of community and purpose in their classroom. When children feel as though they belong and are safe in their classroom while receiving the support of teachers and peers, students perform better and develop tools of self motivation and independence. ** Principle 6- ** Communicates  Teaching may be the most talkative profession but for good reason. Teachers who communicate poorly in turn are unable to connect with students and effectively convey crucial information to them. When teachers communicate they foster teamwork, interaction, and discovery of new knowledge. It is important that teachers use appropriate tones with students and avoid sarcasm unless they know they will understand their mockery. Educators must also set a good example in their speech for students speaking at a moderate pace and not at extreme volumes; their vocabulary should be appropriate to the grade level but also introduce the children to new vocabulary words as well through everyday speech. The messages teachers convey is just as, if not more important than the way in which they say things. Teachers must be knowledgeable and cognizant of what they say and wary in their display of information. They must be aware of their body language to assure that it coincides with their message and constantly be speaking with students to check in on their progress, problems, and accomplishments. Similarly, teacher must also communicate with the community and parents if there are any issues that must be brought to outside attentions. ** Principle 7- **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Plans and Integrates <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> One of the most important responsibilities of an educator is to plan and integrate lessons of instruction. Instructions should be based upon the teacher’s understanding of the subject matter, and the knowledge and goals of students, community, and curriculum. As significant as it is to be prepared with lesson plans in a classroom, they serve to be insufficient unless they are centered to reaching student, community, and curriculum goals. For example, a teacher when instructing on the process of photosynthesis, may consider constructing a KWL (know, want to know, and learned) with the class so as to better understand her students goals in the unit. Then as an outreach to the community, the teacher could begin a community garden with the students where they would monitor their plants to learn about plants life cycles including photosynthesis. Finally, to meet the curriculum goals, the teacher could simply instruct for several weeks on photosynthesis incorporating interactive projects so as to assure students understanding of the material and follow with a formal assessment. It is one matter to write a great lesson plan, but exception educators go beyond to consider the needs in the curriculum, community, and students all with a clear understanding of the subject first. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Principle 8 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">- Evaluates <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Despite how much the students detest them; teachers must give assessments to evaluate the student’s knowledge of subject matters for a variety of purposes. Some teachers will asses for understanding after a unit is completed. Another type of assessment is given in the beginning of the year to place students in appropriate reading and/ or math groups. Then there are infamous standardized tests that measure the student’s knowledge on a variety of subjects to be taught over a range of time. When teachers design their own assessments however, they may choose them formally through a written exam or informally through observation and projects. The teacher’s goals in evaluating are to assure students intellectual, social, and physical development. When teachers assess, they look for deep understanding and worldly applications of materials in intellectual studies. In social assessments, teachers look to see how students act with peers, weather it is appropriate or not and the quality of their interaction. And when teachers study a student’s physical development and asses, they look for proper coordination and balance and awareness of spaces between themselves as well as other bodily operations. Teachers are trained to give and interpret assessments, and no doubt every teacher just wishes their students to pass them! ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Principle 9- **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Reflects on Practice <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Just as students must be active participants in their learning, teachers must be active participants in their instruction. Thus, a teacher must reflect on their practices and regularly assess themselves on the choices they make and the effects they have on themselves as well as others. A teacher must be cognizant and survey their performance in teaching students, their interactions with parents, and relationships they hold with colleges and the community. Educators must also seek opportunities to grow in their career. One of the many ways teachers do this is with professional development workshops and seminars. The NJEA specifically holds an annual convention when teachers gather to embrace the latest techniques and tools in the educational realm. It is important that teachers reflect on their practice for when they fail to, they fail their students. They deprive them of new opportunities and ideas in learning new concepts. Professional development is the ideal way to become immersed in new teaching tactics and share ideas with other struggling educators. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Principle 10 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">- Participates in the Professional Community <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> A teacher may reside in the classroom, but their work branches out and upon numerous other places. As an educator, you must meet with other colleagues, school officials, parents and outside agencies so as to effectively serve students. Parent teacher conferences are not limited to two occurrences out of the years. Parents will ask to speak with teachers as often as they wish especially if they are concerned with their child’s learning. Teachers will also meet with fellow colleagues and other school officials at staff meets and other formal function to discuss upcoming school events or perhaps a crisis that may have occurred between the schools or outside community. Some school may have established and enforce learning communities. Learning communities typically consist of the same subjects, grades, or in class teams and their purpose is to bring teachers together to discuss and share activities they are conducting in the classroom. Teachers may also be in contact with outside agencies or other people in the community such as social workers, tutors, or therapists. It is the teacher’s responsibility to be receptive and work with these people as the child requires them in their learning. All relationships the teachers forms are done to benefit the child and assist them in receiving an optimal education.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">INTASC Standard Report **